604
THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY.
No. 2.
| Peace Expenditures: | |||
| Civil service | $66,000,000 | ||
| Army and fortifications | 37,000,000 | ||
| Navy | 25,000,000 | ||
| Indians | 6,000,000 | ||
| Postal deficiency | 7,000,000 | ||
| Miscellaneous | 21,000,000 | ||
| Rivers and harbors | 10,000,000 | ||
| Total | $173,000,000 | ||
| Peace Revenue on Present Basis: | |||
| Brought forward from the war taxes | $20,000,000 | ||
| Miscellaneous permanent receipts, omitting so-called profit on silver coinage | 30,000,000 | ||
| Customs revenue on basis of calendar year ending December 31, 1889. | $230,000,000 | ||
| Less sugar assigned to war expenses | 60,000,000 | ||
| 170,000,000 | |||
| Total | $220,000,000 | ||
| Surplus available for reduction of taxation | 47,000,000 | ||
On reference to the table of the revenue derived from imports, sorted according to their kind, given in the first part of this treatise, it will be found that—
| Aside from sugar, necessary articles of food have been taxed annually between $10,000,000 and | $12,000,000 | ||
| Articles in a crude condition necessary in the processes of domestic industry $13,000,000 to | 14,000,000 | ||
| Articles partly manufactured which are necessary in the processes of domestic industry | $23,000,000 | ||
| Less some duties which are imposed in order to adjust other duties to the internal taxes, etc. | 3,000,000 | ||
| 20,000,000 | |||
| Total | $46,000,000 | ||
All this revenue can be spared. All these taxes are a useless burden upon domestic industry. This relief can be given within the surplus proved to exist, if this Congress does not waste the substance of the people in order to prevent a reduction of taxation.[1]
Of course, one can not enter into details in a magazine article. Judgment would be required in abating the duties upon crude and partly manufactured materials. Under these headings there may be a very few articles which it may be necessary to move
- ↑ Since this treatise was first prepared for submission to a private club, the dependent pension bill has been passed, which may increase the current annual obligation to $100,000,000 a year. If common sense ruled in fiscal legislation, a duty on tea and coffee would have been imposed to meet this increased obligation. But even this new burden will not prevent the application of this budget within two or three years by the next Congress—such is the elasticity of our revenue, in spite of all the stupidities of partisan legislation.
